Warms her soul
by Asajitheraven
Summary: Cube wonders about her place among the GG's


A/N: This has been floating around in my head for years. I figured it was high time to pull it out into the light. It's a mix of JSR and JSRF as far as the characters go.

Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Jet Set Radio… darn it. Sega and Smilebit own them. I'm just playing with the characters.

Warms her soul

" _What am I doing here_?" Cube asked herself silently as she allowed her gaze to roam over the odd hidden compound that the GG's affectionately referred to as the garage. " _I don't belong here, do I_?"

The space that the rudie gang had staked out as their own looked nothing like any garage she had seen; open aired with a sunken track encircling the checkered linoleum floored "living" area that proved perfect for roller-blade races. The middle area where they spent most of their time hanging out had a partial wall on one end where a pinball machine that had seen better days stood sentinel near a large punching bag. A staircase led to an open platform where a tatty lime green couch and a television sat. An odd, ugly robot slumped off to one side of the platform and she could see, even from her perch atop a massive ten foot speaker, electricity sparking behind the gaps in its metal casing.

" _Roboy. A homemade hunk of junk with attitude_." She frowned as she took in its dented, rusty casing, the odd miss-matched limbs, and its left eye that had popped out of the socket to hang halfway down its "face" yet again. " _A dull can opener had more use than Roboy_." She mused. She still couldn't understand why Tab had built the silly thing. To say he had skills could not be denied, she would never have been able to build the stupid contraption. However, he had a lot to learn in the robotics field unless his goal was to build useless robots with abusive attitudes and a vocabulary that would make a sailor blush. Perhaps he liked trading insults with the machine. Stranger things have happened.

Turning her attention to the robot's creator, she studied the lanky youth. Blond hair covered by a floppy blue knit cap he had pulled low over his eyes, the blue coveralls he couldn't seem to live without even when they needed a wash so desperately that they could get up and walk off on their own if not watched. It wasn't that Tab reveled in filth, it was just that when he was up to his elbows in wires and circuitry he literally lost all sense of time, gaining sustenance, as well as personal hygiene.

Cube shook her head, her short black hair falling neatly back into place. He was not what you might expect to be the leader of a gang. He was far too laid back and easy going. Maybe she could work his "roll with it" attitude to her advantage. Maybe, just maybe she could convince the long limbed youth to reprogram Roboy to verbally harass the more annoying members of this gang. It was something to think on.

Seated on the couch atop the upper platform a girl with short blonde hair wearing a short, off-white dress with teal trim lay sprawled across the battered furniture, her eyes glued to the screen before her. " _Oh god_." Cube rolled her eyes. " _Gum's been sucked into her insipid soap operas again. Her brain will rot if she isn't careful_. _Probably dribble out her nose and ears_." She watched as the other girl, the gang's lieutenant, jiggled her foot, causing her aviator cap, that she had placed atop her toes, to rotate. She had no real problem with Gum, to be honest. The girl could be bitchy at times and they could easily go a few rounds when tempers flared, but then who was Cube to talk. She knew that if given the right incentive she could out bitch and out snark pretty much everyone here. However. She knew that Gum was a good person to have watching your back and could be relied on in a pinch no matter what the situation was. If she wanted to waste brain cells watching soap operas then fine. " _As long as she doesn't try to force me join her. I like my brain cells_ "

Sighing, Cube turned her attention to the other set of massive speakers on the other side of the lower platform where a wiry black youth with sun glasses that resembled large bug eyes danced with a voluptuous black girl wearing white pants that had a red stripe running up the outside of each leg and a white shirt with the same red stripe along the hemline. They seemed to be having a dance off with a girl with short white hair and a striped scarf wrapped around her neck. Jazz, the blonde, wore a black long sleeved shirt and khaki cargo jeans and seemed to be working with the other girl, aptly named Boogie for her love of dancing, to sabotage Garams ability to concentrate on anything other than their swaying curves. Sweat popped out on the boy's bald head as he stumbled over his own feet for the thousandth time.

Cube couldn't find fault with any of those three. They had proven to be dependable as well as loyal. The only real fault that she could see was Garam's tendency to be distracted by the female form. The fact that Boogie and Jazz spent a good portion of their days swishing their hips and giving him sultry "come hither" looks did not help his concentration. Cube snorted. The boy was far too easily manipulated.

Over near the punching bag stood Soda, a tall youth who constantly wore an oversized slate blue coat zipped up to below his nose no matter the weather and yellowish green pants. His oddly shaded orange Mohawk bobbed slightly as he moved. " _Is he stalking the pinball machine_?" She asked herself silently. " _Does he think he needs to sneak up on it so it won't run away_? _What a tool_." Cube could not bring herself to trust Soda, there was something sketchy about him that set off many of her personal alarms. She found the boy's obsession with keeping the highest score on that machine pathetic. She wanted to take a pipe to his head as she repeated "You are not a pinball wizard! It's just a song and will never apply to you!" She wouldn't, however. The others seemed to think that thumping your own gang members was a social faux pax. Well, you might not be able to fix stupid, but it sure felt good to beat it about the head and shoulders for a while.

Speaking of stupid…..

Her eyes traveled to where a rust bucket of a car sat abandoned. A pair of grey clad legs poked out from beneath the rusted frame. The legs belonged to Clutch, a shady boy whose obsession with getting the car fixed nearly outshined Soda's high score mania. As much as she distrusted Soda he couldn't hold a candle to Clutch in the "will-not-turn-my-back-on-the-kid-for-any-reason" sketchy feelings that gave her just one more reason to sleep in a hidden place with a knife under her pillow… and one at her side… and two strapped to each thigh… oh, and the one beneath her mattress… and the two secured under each side of her bed… " _Hmm. Paranoid much_?" She asked herself with a soft, self-depreciating snort. If you had lived through what she had lived through and seen sights she had unfortunately seen you would do all it took to keep the horrors- real and imagined- at bay as well. Clutch had already proven to be out for only himself. Why Tab let him stay was beyond her.

"YO!" A high pitched voice grated across every nerve Cube possessed making her wince. "I have arrived!"

A short boy with shockingly green hair that fell into his eyes, a light blue hoody with an empty bandolier draped over his shoulder and brown cargo shorts skated onto the platform followed by a thin red headed youth wearing a yellow shirt with black sleeves and black skinny jeans. They both wore sunglasses and big grins as they approached her perch.

"Yo, Cube. I got something for you!" The boy named Yoyo due to his inability to speak a full sentence without shouting at least one "yo" stopped below her.

"Piss off." She told him in a voice that promised great pain in his immediate future if he didn't comply. While she didn't really dislike the boy, his constant "YO"ing plucked at her last nerve. She couldn't really blame the kid though. As the youngest of the GG's he filled the annoying younger brother role without even trying. Despite this, Cube knew that when push came to shove the half-pint could be counted on to help out no matter what the situation may be.

Shrugging, Yoyo skated off tossing "Your loss, yo!" over his shoulder.

" _Had that been a nervous tremor in his voice_?" Cube smiled inwardly as she watched the boy roll across the floor.

Gazing up at her, the red head grinned. "I think you're the only person he actually listens to."

"Good." She told him. "He should. I've kicked his skinny little ass enough times my 'teachings' should have stuck."

Beat laughed as he nodded his red haired head in agreement. "You know he looks up to you?"

A growl escaped her at his words. "The twit is too short to do anything but look up to people. He has no choice."

"He won't be short forever." Beat told her, his eyes traveling to where Yoyo approached a young girl wearing a super short blue dress and striped stockings. "You're tough, no nonsense, you led Poison Jam and are scary as hell. He isn't. I think it bothers him that everyone sees him as a kid, but he doesn't quite know what to do about it so he may be hoping that some of your…" Beat waved his hands around vaguely "Your 'cool' will rub off on him."

Cube laughed humorlessly. "You can't package this." Only she knew the horrors that haunted her nights, the horrors that had driven her to the streets to kick and claw her way through the grimy underbelly of society until she had found herself the leader of Poison Jam. There were days that she missed those monster costume clad idiots. They might be as thick as a plank but once housebroken they could be counted on to carry out her orders… after she explained in great detail… with brightly colored cartoony pictures… and finger puppets. She always ended up with a migraine after she had finished explaining any plan to those morons, though. No wonder she left.

Poison Jam probably really missed those finger puppets.

A cool breeze ruffled her hair. " _Okay. The lack of sewage stench is a bonus_." She admitted quietly to herself as she lifted her face to the sky.

A shriek cut across the garage. Beat and Cube turned their attention to where Yoyo ran after the blue clad girl named Mew, the only gang member who could be considered sweet and even a bit sheltered, with a rubber snake. The gang's mascot, a small white dog named Potts who had been slumbering in the sun, dashed after the pair barking excitedly.

"Give it a kiss, yo!" Yoyo laughed as he skated, wiggling the snake furiously.

"Get away from me you jerk!" Mew screamed as she flashed past the old rusty car.

"Hey! I'm working here!" Clutch groused, sliding from beneath the vehicle to see what all the commotion was about. Spotting the pair he laughed callously at the girl's plight.

" _I ask myself again, what am I doing here_?" Cube wondered as Beat rushed off toward a tall black youth who skated into the garage carrying several pizza boxes. " _I don't belong here. I don't belong anywhere, really. So why stay_?"

The others had abandoned their various activities at the sight and smell of pizza, Gum hauling Tab with her by the collar of his overalls as Roboy shouted obscenities at their backs. Everyone passed the pizza around, mixing and matching slices. The newcomer, clad in black pants, a black button up shirt left open and a yellow tee shirt walked over to the massive speaker where Cube still lounged and handed a small pizza box up to her. He knew the former gang leader had a thing about people near her food. Cube did not share often, nor did she play well with others. Or rather she played too well with others, emphasis on "play with".

One of the tallest of the GG's, Combo was also pretty much the only person Cube truly trusted. Clad in black capris with a skull buckle on her belt and a black tank top, her short black hair shone in the sunlight as she bent her head to inhale the aroma from her personal pizza. The girl would not admit needing anyone, but Combo had been allowed a very brief glimpse into her past once. It was he that she sought out in the dark of night to chase away the horrors that plagued her sleep. She would only allow him to sit next to her, soaking up his solid warmth and peaceful calm. If she leaned against him it was her choice, a choice that he would not discourage. Nor did he resent the sleepless nights. Someone needed to be there for her. He knew that the rest of the gang tip toed around her and why. Her temper, when riled, was legendary and few were willing to cross the slender girl. He, personally, just let the storm rage waiting patiently to pick up the pieces afterward.

Cube smiled her thanks to her friend, her gaze shifting to Mew who dashed over to hide behind Combo's towering form.

Yoyo skidded to a sudden stop at the sight of the larger youth, grinning nervously as he backed up.

Grabbing the boy by the shoulder, Combo calmly spun him around and gripped the waistband of his underpants, giving it a quick upward jerk.

Watching the small youth squeal and dance around in a desperate attempt to loosen his under garment, a satisfied grin spread itself across Cubes face. " _Right. That's why I stay_." Laughter rolled across the garage as everyone pointed and shouted "helpful" comments to the hapless boy. " _Dinner and_ _the 'torment Yoyo show'. It's much better than anything on television and never gets old._ "

Laying on her back beneath the bright sunshine that warmed her soul, with her pizza box resting on her stomach, Cube closed her eyes and let the music emanating from below her vibrate through her bones. She sighed, content for the time being. " _Life may not be perfect, but right now at this moment it isn't too bad_."


End file.
